The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof, and can be used appropriately for a semiconductor device in which, e.g., a silicon photonics device is embedded and a manufacturing method thereof.
In recent years, a silicon photonics technique has been developed. The silicon photonics technique couples an optical device and an electronic device to each other via an optical circuit using an optical waveguide made of silicon used as a material. A semiconductor device in which an optical device and an electronic device are thus coupled to each other using an optical circuit and mounted is referred to as an optical communication module.
Such semiconductor devices include a semiconductor device having, as a transmission line for an optical signal, an optical waveguide made of a semiconductor layer formed over a base via an insulating layer and an insulating film formed such that the insulating film covers the optical waveguide. At this time, the optical waveguide functions as a core layer, while the insulating layer and the insulating film function as a clad layer.
In Non-Patent Document 1, FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a silicon photonics platform having a germanium photodetector (Ge PD), a Si modulator (Si MOD), a Si waveguide (Si WG), and a TiN heater.